10 Top Documentary Food Films

Since Food, Inc. is up for an Oscar on Sunday, it seems as good a time as any to compile a list of documentary food films worth watching.

A recent post on favorite feature films that focus on food garnered a lot of comments — and sparked a movie mystery that remains unsolved. For cinematic sleuths, check out the comments by “can’t remember,” and see if you can put your finger on the name of the mystery flick.

Thanks to regular readers Susan Rubin and Margaret Phillips for input for this post.

In alpha order, a list of ten real food films worth viewing while noshing on a modest-sized serving of organic, non-GMO popcorn.

The rock stars of the ethical eating movement — Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser — weigh in on all that is wrong in America’s industrialized food system. Methinks my son summed up this film best: “Sometimes the scariest films are the ones that are real.”

Down with the corporate behemoths of the American food economy who threaten the country’s food security, livelihood of small farmers, and our choices as consumers. This doco features fresh thinking from urban farming activist Will Allen and sustainable farmer Joel Salatin.

Great list. I would add As We Sow by Jan Weber (full disclosure: she’s a friend of mine).

It’s a lovely film about the disappearance of family farms in the Mid-West due to the incursion of big industrial operations. It was awarded “Best Documentary” in the Rural Route film festival. You can find more information about it here: http://www.aswesow.com

I was disappointed by the documentary win. I really felt Food, Inc. was an amazing movie that needed a boost.

Instead, the Academy opted for The Cove, which I watched Saturday night. The Cove limits itself to one outrage in Japan, the killing of dolphins, whose meat is fed to Japanese children, increasing their body burden of mercury.

Food, Inc. describes how all our food here in the USA is being altered, how the subsidized crops corn and soybeans turn up in many packaged foods, how Monsanto is forcing out the small farmer and imposing genetically modified seeds.

I felt sick after watching both documentaries, but think the message of Food, Inc. is more urgent and should be watched by all foodies so they can help spread the word.

“The World According to Monsanto” is a great documentary. They do a great job of exposing how U.S. politicians and government agencies are selling out, along with most of the world for that matter, to greedy corporations. It’s got GMO, rBGH, frivolous lawsuits, government lobbying, and much more. It opened my mom’s eyes, she had no idea of the danger of GMO’s and the extent to which they are used in the USA.

I love Diet for A New America with John Robbins. Sadly, I was completely ignorant about animal treatment and our relationship to food before I saw this movie. John is definitely an author that should be read by all.

Awesome list. One that you left off that I thought was fantastic was Fat Head. It promoted itself as a counter-point to supersize me, but its really a fantastic movie about the modern state of our food, and the obesity epidemic.

Chow Down is a food documentary that focuses on the food pyramid. It shows how the FDA was pressured to upend its original draft of the food pyramid (with grains on the bottom next to meat and dairy) by huge agribusiness thugs and lobbyists.

And it points out that diabetes, heart disease, stroke, obesity are not different problems. They are all related to the same problem – incorrect diet with a disproportionate amount of calories from meat and diary, versus nuts, fruits, and vegetables. It says heart bypass surgeries and stints are just band aids, and are often unnecessary if there is not an imminent risk of heart attack/stroke. Changing your diet can eliminate diabetes and heart disease. No need for surgery. Doctors push surgeries because it gets them paid…

Thanks for the list! I’ve seen 6 of the 11 so I have some research to do into the others! Fresh and The Future of Food are two of my absolute favourites. I also really enjoyed “Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days” I’m not an advocate for a 100% raw food diet but it was amazing to see the effect that dietary changes alone had on these participants lives! Some raw food is certainly beneficial for everyone to include in their diet Crystal – Prenatal Coach´s last [type] ..My Guilt-Free Holiday Treat- Raw Chocolate Brownies

Fathead the movie by Tom Naughton, it’s a bit of a takedown on Supersize Me, which I had never watched until after I had watched this documentary, as I had thought anyone eating 5000 calories a day of anything is going to put on weight and suffer some serious health risks and it’s all very well to blame fast food for weight problems, but they don’t shovel the food down our throats. This movie started me on my real food lifestyle.

I’d second “The World According to Monsanto” and “Fat Head”, especially since you have “Supersize Me” on the list. “Fat Head” brings to light several problems with Morgan Spurlock’s methods in “Supersize Me”. I’ve seen over half the movies on this list, and the one that scared me the most was “The Future of Food”.

thanks for the list. I need to know more and more about food production and waste.my blog is about the experiment I am on, living without buying food for 4 months.it is a personal protest about the waste of food.

Harvest of Shame!
The Edward Murrow 1960 classic that opened America’s eyes to the country’s unjust migrant labor situation. I’d argue it paved the way for other documentaries that have us reconsider where our food comes from.

Supersize Me was definitley more amusing than the last one I saw. It was an HBO doc called “Death on a Factory Farm”. I had to hide my eyes through most of it. I think anyone considering become a vegetarian would be sold after watching this.

Another good one is called “Fed Up!” It was released in 2002 and seems to have influenced many other documentaries (notably The Future of Food) which have recycled some of the same information, such as the revolving door between corporations and regulatory department heads (even down to the visual). I think Food Matters is good but greatly overrated and distractingly biased.

A very cool, new documentary film was screened at the EcoFarm Conference in January: In Search of Good Food. Focused on California farming, food security, and related environmental issues. An obviously low-budget documentary style and a mostly upbeat look at some serious issues.http://www.insearchofgoodfood.blogspot.com/

Yep, saw this film-in-progress at the Ecofarm Conference too. I think your point about it being an obviously low-budget, mostly upbeat look at serious issues is spot on. And while I think it’s a valid addition to the genre, it wouldn’t make my top ten list in its current form.

And, CAfarmer, not trying to single this particular flick out, just realizing the comment section on this post is really becoming a resource for folks interested in watching doco films on food or spreading the word about ones they’ve seen and liked, not necessarily a discussion place for the “best” of the genre.

No worries, as you say while this one (and likely others on this thread) aren’t necessarily top ten material, many are nonetheless worth watching.

Hey,
Didn’t have time to read all the comments, so someone might have already said this, but “We Feed The World” is also an amazing and illuminating food documentary.
For anyone who wants to know what impact their food choices have on other people in the world and the world itself.

Thanks for the list! I think I’ve watched about half of them already and ****, what a way to open my eyes! Food Inc was the one that made the strongest impression on me. I will never look at processed foods (ok, bad processed foods, not freshly baked bread, which in truth, is also processed) in the same way again.

And as many others have pointed out: Food Matters is a must-see documentary that makes you question what you eat on a whole new level!

This is a great list of documentaries to start with another good movie is McLibel. It shows the story of two activist who were sued by Mcdonalds but did not back done on what they were saying. Also another plug for Foodmatters, great movie and definitely deserves to be in top ten.

My husband and I just watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead….great film about a guy who was about 100 lbs. overweight and on medicine for an auto-immune disorder. He decides to start juicing (veggie and fruits) for 60 days – nothing but juice. He lost his weight and got off all meds and has tremendous energy. It actually inspired us to go out and buy a juicer immediately. So far, we’re loving our delicious juices and are looking forward to seeing and feeling the benefits of our “reboot”!

It was a month ago or so that I saw “Fat, Sick and nearly dead” and I recall that the juice diet should only be used for a limited time, anything ranging from one week to a month or two, but that it was not supposed to replace your regular meals.

Also, I congratulate you on your successes and weight loss. Great job!

I was going to mention Fat Sick and Nearly Dead! Amazing movie!! I have shown it to so many people and it has inspired such change in my friends in a very short amount of time. It illustrates just how perfect food is for us in it’s natural state. An uplifting story to say the least.

I looooved Fat Sick and Nearly Dead … It shows us the real important of raw foods and staying away from MOST popular foods in the American diet — sugars, fried, oil, red meats … Very eye opening as the effects of our “normal” diets filled with cooked, “dead” foods … and the mindblowing effects of a raw diet … or even getting more greens on a daily basis. Amazing, motivating video. I now juice!

Thanks for the website and the blog – learned about a lot of films on a subject near and dear to my heart as a foodie, a cook and a mom (especially a mom).
I just watched INGREDIENTS, which I found very uplifting, informative and certainly interesting. It’s about the importance of local growers and how we (and restaurants and markets) can support them to change the way we live and eat. Narrated by Bebe Neuworth and features many farmers and chefs.
Loved it!

There are a lot of really solid movies on this list! My favorite is definitely Our Daily Bread.

My professional and education background is on food issues, and I would strongly urge those who will watch Food Matters to be extremely skeptical of the “science” presented and to do a little independent research on their claims before taking it as the truth. I would encourage those who have already watched it to re-watch with the same level of healthy skepticism. Food Matters is to food as the movie Zeitgeist is to history – engaging, powerful and sometimes convincing, but ultimately mostly just fluffy entertainment painted as scientific truth.

Hi there… i went through everything and have watched 12 of the films mentioned here. They have all made an impact in how we eat today. The last one I saw was Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead and with that movie, husband and I bought a juicer. It has helped tremendously. Now we are reading and working out. I will check out the few movies that were mentioned and have not watched. Cheers to all of you watching and making the lifestyle and food choices best for you.

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